Rise of the Shadow Beast
by DreamDuelist
Summary: This is the revamped version of 'Shadow Lion' where Severus kept his memory and trained to fight in the Wizard War in own his way. In the brink of despair, Severus was found by a clan of warriors with powers he never imagined. Trained under their guidance, he sought to use his new found abilities to shake the foundations of the Wizarding World. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter


**Shadow Lion: Revamped**

 **The Rise of the Shadow Beast**

* * *

Chapter 1

No matter what he can do, he's stuck between a rock and a hard place as the Muggles would say.

Severus kicks a tin can on to the empty streets of Cokeworth to vent out his frustration while carrying his books under his arm. The crescent moon lights up the summer skies as he slowly walks his way back home to Spinner's End.

Severus scoffs at the thought Spinner's End as his home, it's more of an everlasting hell to him with his abusive drunk of a father being there. He usually goes out to be away from him for as long as possible every day. In the park, he reads his mother's old books and his secondhand potion book under the shade of the tree by the riverside and enjoying the summer breeze on his face.

He sighs, wishing each day the sun would stay out longer. The place was now the only sanctuary he had for escaping his father because he lost the only place that he would remotely call home, the Evan's house. The reason he could not go there anymore was because of that one word:

Mudblood.

He hates that word with a passion now. He lost the one person who actually cared about him, his best - his former best friend Lily Evans because of it. She was the only real friend he had. She was always there for him and so was Richard and Iris, her parents, but now she's gone...all because of that insufferable Potter and his goons. He let his anger get the better of him because of those toerags.

He shakes his head, trying to get Potter out of his mind. If only he could go to Lily right now and beg for her forgiveness and swear on his magic he would never be involve in the Dark Arts again, but Lily made it quite clear they're not friends anymore and he can't face her parents for the shame of calling their daughter that 'word' either.

Even if he were to swear to never be involved in the Dark Arts again, it's not that simple.

Lucius and the Dark Lord's inner circle are expecting him to take the Dark Mark as soon as he turns seventeen so he can make potions for them. He had no choice but to associate with them since they were all living under the same house. If he backs out now, not only he would be targeted by the Dark Lord, he would also be trapped to live with no hope of surviving in the Wizard World. Everyone in the Dark Lord's inner circle, including Lucius, have connections that could give him the kind of power to advance in the Wizarding World and without it he would be nothing.

In the end, he's trapped to live an unhappy life in a dark place with no way out.

What did he do to deserve this? He never asked for this; the horrible abusive childhood by his father, the bullying by James and his Marauders, the prejudice from the Slytherin Purebloods, the teachers and Dumbledore in Hogwarts. Everything he had hoped for when he came to Hogwarts were crushed and dashed. It was like everywhere he turned, he would end up being miserable and alone.

The only good thing he had in his life was Lily, obviously, but even she turned her back on him and left him all alone. Despite the warm season, recalling her rejection in front of the Fat Lady portrait made him cold inside.

 _There's nothing for me..._

He growls, fighting back a tear, and kicks the can too hard and too far from his reach.

 **Clank!**

"Ouch, what the-a can? Where did it come from?" Severus hears a gruffly voice as he walks closer.

He makes a turn to see three muggle men in black clothing surrounding a blond muggle girl in a trench coat. Great, he just stumble into a gang rape.

The three men turn their heads to the side, revealing they are wearing masks and holding...swords?! That made him drop his books out of shock.

"Damn a witness," one of the men on the right says. "What do we do?"

"Simple really, he'll be taken care of quickly," one in the middle, who seems like the leader, answers.

Warning sirens scream inside his head with quaking fear churning in the depths of his stomach, Severus quickly grabs his wand from his wand holster and points towards the three men with caution, ready to say any spell that comes to mind.

"I'm armed!" He says in an alarmed tone, hoping that would be enough to back off but the action created the opposite effect.

The three masked men decides to take slight interest in him and almost turn their backs on the girl.

"A wizard huh? Haven't dealt with them before," the leader says with delight in his voice. Then he turns to the one on his left. "Kill him slowly."

Just before he could utter the stun spell out of his lips, his wand flies out of his hand and an immense wave of pain shot through his abdomen in a form of a fist.

From that one punch, Severus cradles his stomach with his two hands and got on his knees, gasping for air. He haven't felt this much pain since his father would use his brass knuckles in most of his beatings but that punch was twice as painful...maybe even more.

"Is this really what a wizard is capable of?" The masked man who punched him laughs as he grabs him by the hair and pulls him up. "As fun as it would be to end a pathetic race, you wizards are pretty much destroying yourselves. Makes me wonder how they exist in this world for so long without having their overbearing egos knocked down a peg or two."

Just who are these people? And how do they know about wizards? Severus looks at the man before him in the eye and grinds his teeth.

That man has the very same look in his eyes like all the others. He could see his father Tobias, James Potter, Sirius Black, the Purebloods, the teachers and Dumbledore; looking at him with eyes that tell him that he would always be beneath them. These men are just like them, always enjoy watching him suffer.

Rage fills his mind and as painful as the punch was, it starts to subside. He built a tolerance towards pain after years of abuse from both at Spinner's End and at Hogwarts.

Tobias, the Marauders, the Death Eaters, and Dumbledore; he have just about enough of them. All the abuse, the suffering, the humiliation, and the tears he have endured for years by them and doing nothing to stop them...it's suffocating. They will never change. He wants out...He...WANTS THEM OUT!

"Wha-"

Severus sucker punches the masked man across the face with everything he has. Following the sucker punch, a knee to the abdomen, an uppercut to the chin, a punch to the face; he unleashes a fury of pent-up emotions and venting it on the masked man in front of him.

Despite the overwhelming emotions, he knows in his rational mind that they're going to kill him if he stops fighting now but he won't let them. He'll fight back; he wants to live, he wants to survive!

With the last of his pent-up emotions, Severus gives a final kick to the masked man and some distance for himself to breathe.

"At least wizards know how to throw a decent punch," the masked man in front of him wipe his chin with the back of his hand. He doesn't seem to be faze with all the physical attacks on his person.

Severus makes an astonished face. ' _No way, after all that?'_

"Well it was fun but I have a mission to complete," the mask man readies his sword.

 **Crack!**

Suddenly a whip ensnares the sword and snatches it away from the man's hand. They both turn to see the blond muggle woman holding the sword.

Severus couldn't help but gasp at the sight, behind her the other two masked men are dead with their throats slice across with blood drawing out.

"Too bad that you and your friends failed," the blond muggle girl says. Once she finish her sentence, in a flash the masked man in front of him is dead, killed by his own sword.

Severus couldn't help but stare at the Muggle girl. He hadn't notice during his fight with the masked man but in the midst of it she took off her trench coat, revealing to wear a black leather leotard, long black boots and a mask that covers the lower half of her face. On her person, she have multiple knives strapped on a leather sash.

Just before she killed the man, the clouds parted as the moonlight cascade her being. He might be imagining it but he could have sworn he saw wings on her back and the tips of her blond hair tinted with red. Like a white butterfly turning scarlet red...if that made any sense.

"Uhh..."

"Thanks for the assist, sorry I have to do this to you though."

"Wha?"

 **Wham!**

She punches him on the nose with a cracking sound, knocking him out flat on the ground. His vision floods into darkness.

* * *

Severus wince once he opens his eyes and the sunlight from the window fills the room. He gets up from the soft bed, seating up straight, and starts to feel the throbbing sensation taking over. He places a hand on his forehead as he tries to remember what happen to him last night.

"Guhh... What happened to me?" His fingers brushes past his nose and he could feel that it's heavily bandaged. He could feel his nose throbbing in pain. "And what happened to my nose?"

"Sorry about that. I accidentally broke your nose when I was knocking you out but it seems your nose was broken more times before and wasn't healed properly so our doctors have to surgically repair it," a gentle, feminine voice answers. Severus jumps to the other side of the bed and away from the woman responsible.

She put her hands in surrender with a guilty and awkward smile. "It's okay, I'm not going to punch you. I just want to talk, alright?"

Severus doesn't know if he should act hostile or comply. She seems nice now but then again he did see her kill three of those masked men and punch him out cold after trying to help. He wisely decides on the latter.

"...okay." He eases his way back to his previous spot in the bed.

"Are you hungry? I brought some breakfast though I might have brought you too much," she gestures to the trays of food on the nightstand and grabs the first plate then hands it over to him. A simple two eggs with three strips of bacon.

He eats calmly and slowly while carefully watching the blond girl sitting by his bedside. Now that he has a chance to calm down and assess the situation he's in. Right away he observes the blond who put him in this position. He first notice that the blond is wearing more modest, casual clothing rather than the leotard he saw her wear.

He has to admit she's beautiful. A natural beauty without the need for makeup. However she's not a natural blonde, but it suits her, especially since it looks soft to touch. He could also tell she's from Asian descent but her eyes are green and the golden hue in them that stands out. Quite the unorthodox and especial woman, she definitely presents the quandary-

Realizing he's literally checking her out, he clears his throat. "So... I believe I have the right to ask who are you, where am I, and why am I here?"

"I don't blame you for asking that," she said in a sympathetic tone, "but I can't tell you anything just yet until he comes."

"Who is 'he'?"

"'He' would be me," a man in a pin-striped suit enters the room, shutting the door behind him.

His hair is black, starting to turn gray, and in a ponytail. He has a few scars on his face one below his right eye, one across his left cheek and one on his chin. Severus is willing to bet this man has a few more scars on his body as well given the circumstances.

"First, I would like to thank you for trying to help my daughter. Although it was not needed, for a wizard to stumble into a dangerous situation and able to stand your own against someone from our world is no small feat."

Picking up the words and the knowledge that the man and girl in the room are not ordinary Muggles if they know he's a wizard, Severus asks cautiously: "What do you mean by 'our world'?"

"Boy... Do you seriously believe that Magic is the only power in this world that exist?" The man answers slowly as Severus' eyes widen.

Quickly deducing that Severus has gotten the implication, the man continues. "I'm being rude, I am Itsuki Takahashi. The one who you helped is my daughter Aimi and we come from a clan with powers unlike the one you grew up to know as Magic."

Powers other than Magic?! Merlin, is he dreaming? Could there be such a thing?

"And my name is Severus Snape," he introduces himself properly, despite being told a shocking revelation.

"Otou-san, are you sure it's okay to tell him about that? He is a wizard after all," the blond known as Aimi asks him.

"I want to see how he would react, after all this is the first time Ki wielders actually talk to wizards in centuries."

So 'Ki' is a power equivalent to Magic and it existed, perhaps, just as long as Magic. Unbelievable. Severus wonders if this was how Lily's parents felt when Professor McGonagall explained to them Lily's circumstances.

"If..." Severus tries to find his voice, somehow his throat quickly became dry. "If what you are telling me is true then..."

There are so many questions he wants to ask them right now, but he doesn't know where to begin or what to say.

Noticing his state of confusion, Itsuki Takahashi steps in. "Perhaps I shall start from the beginning to help you understand better."

The elder man starts his tale of the world of Ki, which Severus notes that it somewhat parallels to the world of Magic. Like Magic, how Ki came to be was unknown however the theory was that it existed since the beginning of time.

Itsuki then explains the concept of Ki. Ki is the energy or life force of the universe. Unlike Magic, Ki is used by any average human being everyday but only to a minimal amount. However if one trains their mind, body, and spirit they could utilize that power, nurture it, and further develop one's own abilities to leaps and bounds. They are known as Ki wielders, people who are dedicated and disciplined in self-improvement and technique, which soon became the base for martial arts. The older man also demonstrates Ki by appearing it in the palm of his hand as proof, much to Severus's shock.

Then he explains the history of how the conflict between Ki wielders and wizards began. Both sides were not aware of each other until the Crusades era where the chaos started. When the wizards found out they were not the only society with powers, they felt threatened and wanted to exterminate them. The Ki wielders, however, did not want to fight but did what was necessary to defend themselves. The fighting continued for centuries until after the medieval era.

They were at a stalemate with each other and both sides suffered many losses. The Ki wielders soon realized the senseless fighting was not worth the losses they had endured over the wizards' overbearing egos so they decided to move to the East where they could live in solitude.

Over time the knowledge of Ki wielders faded away from public Wizard history but the Ki wielders suspected they kept a record of them hidden away.

As centuries passed, the Ki wielders had kept a watchful eye on the Wizarding World and observed their civil wars. They later predicted that the Wizards' arrogance and internal conflicts would eventually be their downfall. In response, all the clans of Ki wielders gathered together and made a pact not to be directly involved in wizard affairs unless their conflicts spread into a pandemic state for the whole world.

"And from what we have seen so far in this country, it's only a matter of time before they destroy themselves. Because in each and every civil war they had, the circumstances and casualties grew worse in their world." Itsuki Takahashi explains.

"..." Severus gapes at the man before him. He might as well be speechless after listening about Ki wielders and their history involving wizards.

While he might not be a historian, Severus recalls listening on and off in Professor Binns's lectures about certain wars and rebellions of different races such as Giants and Goblins but very little events about wizards themselves. Only how wizard communities and organizations were formed and notable historical figures were in his boring lectures. Sure there were dark wizards before but they were easily dealt with according to the textbook.

As far as he knows, the only major conflict involving wizards was Grindelwald's revolution for wizard dominance in the world and that was only notable because Headmaster Dumbledore defeated him and was awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class. What other past civil wars were there in the Wizarding World?

"If you believe that Grindelwald and the one who fashions himself as Lord Voldemort are the only two leading wizards who express wizard dominance and lead the world into civil war in history then you are surely mistaken." The older man says as though he was reading his mind. "There were many who expressed wizard dominance in the past but they never went as far as those two did. As I said before, we kept a watchful eye on the Wizarding World to know this."

In that moment, Severus wanted to ask him for proof but he had a feeling what he said is true. After witnessing and experiencing the prejudice in Hogwarts himself for the past five years, he can't deny that claim. The majority of Purebloods who behave proudly and privileged about their magic tend to lead into certain conversations he overheard from time to time. Mostly they stem into the topic of dominance over the low status wizards and Muggles. If talks of wizard domination exist today, then it's highly likely to be greatly expressed in the distant past.

Also the way Itsuki Takahashi portrayed wizards as egotistical annoyances in his tale isn't far from the truth. There's always some kind of hierarchy of power; in Hogwarts, in the Slytherin house, and in the student body where the strong and powerful would oppress and order the weak and worthless, where he considers himself to be in.

As much as it pains him to admit it but he too acted high and mighty over Muggleborns because of his Halfblood status, save Lily. Now he can't help but feel disgusted of himself for his previous behavior and ashamed for treating Muggleborns so poorly like the Marauders and Purebloods were treating him. It begs the question how to make it up to them and redeem himself, if he had the chance.

Still... there are some things he want to ask after everything he heard today. "...what makes Ki wielders so different from wizards then?"

"Excuse me?" Itsuki Takahashi blinks once before asking.

"What makes Ki wielders different from Wizards?" Severus pauses before asking a follow up question. "And why tell me this?"

In Severus's mind, he suspects the reason Itsuki Takahashi revealed the World of Ki to him is because he's going to give him an offer later on in the conversation. Severus knows that they could kill him at any moment if they wish to keep their secrecy but they would also want to use him in their services.

Itsuki Takahashi is appealing to him the joy and wonder of the World of Ki but he knew better than that. The joy and wonder he felt as a child, eager and ready for the Wizarding World, was shattered as soon as he entered Hogwarts and sorted into Slytherin with reality of the situation donning on him in the course of his first year. He wonders what kind of offer is the man before him is going to give and what kinds of horrid ordeals he would endure if he accepts it.

"Well, I didn't say Ki wielders are any better than wizards are. The scars are a given." The man cups his chin, covering one of his scars. "We have our own faults and conflicts as well but what separates Ki wielders from wizards would be the level of discipline and modesty we have. Also our views on the power we have greatly differs from how wizards view their magic."

"While wizards view their magic as talent from birth, we see our powers as a result of hardworking and dedication," Itsuki explains. "We don't use them as a means to an end but to continue honing our skills and improving them because it shows how much we achieve in our lives. When it comes down to it, everyone has one life to live and our achievements is what matters the most in our growth as people."

Severus feels his eyes widen at the revelation. Honestly he couldn't believe how deeply moving that was and…relieved to hear that. For so long, he felt his efforts would be in vain in the Wizarding World. That no matter how much he worked to succeed, it would never stand a chance against the pureblooded wizards, the privileged, born with power and wealth who could easily advance in the wizarding community.

Being a Ki wielder sounds a bit more promising than being a wizard to him, but it still remains to be seen.

"And as to why I am telling you all this. I won't tell you at the moment." Itsuki Takahashi answers with a sly smirk on his face, looking at him intensely and with intrigue.

"Why not?!" He almost screams out. The suspense is nearly killing him. Taking in account of everything he was told, everything he knew and who he is, he just knows there is a catch.

"Yeah, why not Otou-san?"

Severus turns to Aimi in surprise, she looks just as confused and irritated as he is. Honestly he forgot she's sitting by his bedside.

"I want to hear your opinion first, I can tell you are a bright young man and from the look in your eyes you have experienced a lot of hardships." The older man looks at him intensely, which cause Severus to shiver under his gaze. "You suffered from such a young age, have you not? And not just physically but emotionally too, damaged in a way by your father. However you had periods of solace in your life that you depended on for joy and comfort, but the source of it is recently gone I believe. You experienced some joy but mostly sorrow in the Wizarding World or more particularly in Hogwarts due to being bullied and being casted into the dark. Tell me if I got anything wrong or can I go further?"

Severus remains silent, everything he said is true which made him more cautious around this man than ever. His appearance alone could tell he had a rough upbringing, but for the older man to accurately describe Lily as the solace in his life that's recently gone means that Itsuki Takahashi knows more than what Severus originally thought.

From the impression Severus got from the man, he surely have the resources to get general information on him but...how far deep did he know?

Deciding to stop beating around the bush, Severus finds his voice.

"What do you want from me?" Severus asks, sounding desperate. "And don't play dumb, after everything you told me, what could I possibly have to offer in whatever plot you're planning for the Wizarding World?"

After he said that, a moment of silence hang in the room. The blond girl, Aimi, stares at her father in shock, obviously pondering on the idea her father would actually plan something against the Wizarding World.

"Quite perspective of you," the man smiles at him. "But you're mistaken in one part, what I'm planning is necessarily for both worlds not just the Wizarding World."

"What do you mean?" He asks cautiously. For both worlds? What could this dangerous man be planning?

"I've been very aware of the activities of this Lord Voldemort and the events in the Wizarding World for years and frankly this is by far the worst wizard civil war I've witnessed and I want to do something about it."

Crash!

Severus turns to see the blond girl fall out of her seat and turns back to the grown man before him. _'Quite blunt of him,'_ Severus couldn't help but think. _'He could possibly be ten times more dangerous than You-Know-Who and Dumbledore combined yet not as deceitful or manipulative as the two.'_

For some reason, Itsuki Takahashi's answer was quite possibly the most honest and straightforward intention given to him but that only raised more questions.

"Why do you want to? I mean, this war has nothing to do with you or the Ki wielders and how does it involve both worlds?"

"Severus, from everything I told you about the Ki wielders and their relation to the Wizarding world, I'm sure you can figure it out." The elder man says to him. "Should this Lord Voldemort were to succeed in his conquest in Europe, what do you suppose would happen afterwards?"

Severus closes his eyes, thinking. If the Dark Lord won then obviously the entire world would be in the palm of his hands however it's highly unlikely he has any knowledge of the Ki wielders at all. So in other words...

"There would be a war between wizards and Ki wielders, correct?" Severus says slowly. Itsuki nods his head with a remorseful look on his face.

"In a glance, a war would be the most generous term but in reality it would be a one-sided annihilation," he remarks gravely. Severus looks at him, flabbergasted. The girl next to him gapes at her father.

"Wha-what do you mean?" The blond girl finds her voice and speaks up for the first time in a while. Severus gulps, having a feeling about what the blond girl's father is about to say.

"After so many years of observing the Wizarding World and their constant string of civil wars and heavy casualties, many clans including my own have created many counter measures against them. Every scenario and every tactic created imaginable, all ready and waiting should any wizard would step out of line and pursue world domination. If any wizard were to completely dominate an entire continent and pursue any further, then many clans of Ki wielders, if not all, will wipe out the entire wizard population. No man, woman, and children would be spared, including the innocent." Itsuki Takahashi explains with a heavy sigh.

Severus pales as silence in the room becomes heavily abundant until Itsuki Takahashi speaks again.

"I'll be honest, this Lord Voldemort has gone further in his pursuit for wizard dominance than any wizard in history. Some allied clan leaders and myself are reluctant to resort to genocide however many clans believe if we don't intervene at all, it'll be the second coming of the Crusades, which every clan of Ki wielders agree that they want to prevent."

"Then I don't understand, wouldn't exterminating the Wizarding world be more a benefit to all Ki wielders?" Severus asks, surprising himself that he actually said it out loud.

"Absolutely not! If we eliminate an entire race just because we perceive them as a threat and vice versa, we would only fail as human beings as well as failing to understand one another." Severus jolts up in his bed from the elder man's powerful response. _'What did he mean by that?'_ Severus wonders.

Then Itsuki says calmly, "More importantly, we also have to think of the universal backlash of destroying an entire race of wizards. The balance in the world would be disrupted and the end result would be our own downfall as well."

Severus cocks an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You'll understand soon enough, depending on your decision of course."

"Otou-san, could you please get to the point already!" The blond girl shouts impatiently. Severus couldn't help but sympathize with her, he's really getting tired of this long conversation.

"Alright, I suppose I held up the suspense long enough." The man's body becomes erect, as if prepared and ready to make a revelation.

"As you already know, your wizard war has gotten our attention and as much as we want to intervene, we cannot due to the peace agreement with all the other clans. If we allow the war to continue in the pace it's going, it would be the same as doing nothing and the end result would be the extermination of all wizards. However I believe I have a plan involving both wizard and Ki wielder to be the driving force to end the war and prevent more from rising."

"So I'm the wizard that fits into your plans?" Severus asks impatiently.

"When I said both wizard and Ki wielder, I meant it as one person entirely. In other words, I want you to come join us to train to become a Ki wielder."

"What?!/Otou-san, are you serious?!" Both Severus and Aimi shouted, both shocked at the sudden declaration. Itsuki chuckles at the sight of their gapping faces.

"Otou-san this is unheard of. There is no way one person can be both a wizard and a Ki wielder, let alone a wizard training to become a Ki wielder." His daughter, recovered quickly from her initial shock, says loudly.

"We never know for sure, but that is young Severus Snape's decision on the matter, so what do you say?" He address him.

Severus literally feels his jaw drop, speechless. First these people knocked him out and practically kidnapped him. Then they explained they were a rival existence to wizards to him (an underage wizard), and finally they ask him to join them.

"Otou-san I think you broke him," the blond girl says sheepishly, which helped brought him back to reality. He looks down on himself and close his eyes.

"Give him a moment." Severus hears him say.

After learning so much in a single conversation, Severus weighs his options. The idea of using Ki would be an interesting challenge for him. That power could give him an edge. He could use that to get back at Potter and his Marauders for all the years of bullying and torment he endured by their hands. Though as appealing learning and mastering a power that rivals magic entirely is, this offer could obviously be a ploy. To be used as another disposable tool like Voldemort and his Death Eaters would use him for. And the fact of becoming a disposable tool means he literally has no chance of a bright future, nothing. Who's to say these people won't treat him the same?

"Why... why ask me?" Shaking and clenching his hands, Severus recalls the last time he talked to Lily. Her friendship was his only happiness in his existence but even she considered his existence worthless having in her life. Probably one of the reasons she dropped him as a friend.

"You could ask a more suitable wizard that has more to offer than I do. I have nothing, I am nothing!" _'And that's the hard truth,'_ he closes his eyes and fights back a tear. He has been beaten, bruised, and rejected in both the Muggle and Wizarding world. Who is to say he won't experience the same in their world as well?

"Severus my boy that is where you're wrong. For someone like you who can create their own arsenal of spells and refine potions to a great degree shouldn't consider himself as nothing." _'H-how did he know that?'_ Severus opens his eyes and looks up to see Itsuki holding his secondhand Advanced Potion-Making book his mother gave him.

"I hope you don't mind but as soon as my daughter collected you, she also collected the books you dropped and my curiosity got the better of me," he says politely without a hit of remorse. "I admit the Toenail-growing hex is quite the creative, comical yet disturbing spell I've ever come across, shows how inventive you really are along with the other spells you made."

"You are right in one area though," Itsuki says as he gives him back his potion book. "I could have asked any suitable wizard better than you but there are specific reasons why I chose to ask you Severus Snape and the timing couldn't be any better. You have fulfilled the conditions necessary that very few people have to become something greater."

 _'I do?'_ Severus couldn't for the life of him understand this man. What could he possibly see in him?

"Please understand Severus, the reasons why I chose you have nothing to do with your current talents and self-worth." Itsuki tells him with the most honest and earnest look Severus has ever seen. "Anyone could see you are a young man full of potential, brilliance, and creativity just by looking through that book of yours but sadly unrecognized for their worth because of the prejudice your school cast on you and wasteful if you plan on being follower to an egomaniac when you could do so much better."

"Before we could truly begin, first I wish to show you that the Muggle World does have some redeeming qualities. Your father may have blacken your views of it but you have yet to experience that world for yourself and you should not deny that part of your birth as it is a part of you. This will help broaden your horizon to the limited choices you think you have." Itsuki extends his hand slowly towards him.

Feeling defeated, from what he wasn't sure himself, Severus can tell this man is persistent to have him join but not forceful in his methods. Itsuki Takahashi's honesty is genuine with no underlying agenda. While still suspicious of him, there is one thing that stands out from You-Know-Who and his band of purebloods' promises to him that made them worlds apart from Itsuki.

This man is not promising him power or status but a chance. A chance to change, to strive and achieve, to find hope, or a chance towards something better in his life, something Severus could not refuse. Something about this man and what he offers compels him to join. Not out of greed for power, it's a feeling of a new beginning.

Severus looks at the hand before saying: "If I accept your offer, I'll stay with your clan only for this summer up until a week before I go back to Hogwarts. By then I will choose whether or not I should join your cause."

"Of course, we cannot have you neglect your wizard studies but your time with us is limited so your training will be difficult to master for you in the short time we have."

"Let me worry about that and I promise I won't disappoint you."

"Surely you won't have to." Severus accepts Itsuki's hand with a small smile, feeling hopeful.

* * *

Omake:

"Now that's out of the way, we should be arriving in Japan in less than a week." Severus's quickly changes from hopeful to shock.

"Wait what?!" He rushes to the nearby window to see he's in the middle of the ocean in a luxurious ship.

"Ah I forgot," Aimi shouts in realization. "We had you sedated while our doctors surgically repair your nose for the entire time. We were impatient for you to wake up so Otou-san had you come with us to Japan. I'm so sorry."

"No harm no foul." Itsuki says with a joyful, knowing smile.

Severus feels one of his eyebrows twitch.

* * *

 **Me:** As I said in my previous author's note in story **Shadow Lion** I made a revamped version of it with a new plot. Hope you enjoy it.


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